Gosselin: It's a shame the Cowboys never made a commitment to Martellus Bennett

[RoanokeFan]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dal...us-bennett.ece

Excerpt: "Rick Gosselin, sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News and SportsDayDFW.com and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, answered your questions about the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks and Stars in a live chat Monday. Some excerpts:

What explains Martellus Bennett's emergence in NY? A lucky couple of catches or do you think the coaching staff up there has gotten him to focus?

Gosselin: The Giants made a commitment to Bennett, something the Cowboys never did. The Giants also are a team that wants to run the ball and Bennett has few peers as a blocker at the tight end position. New York was the right fit, the right situation for Bennett. Shame on the Cowboys for never tapping into the talent Bennett now has on display in New York." Read more...

[Kruunch]

Kind of reminds me of Visanthe Shiancoe when we had Shockey.

I think MB was just a victim of being behind a perennial favorite.

[Pete Warren]

Bennett's solid and is a great blocker, but I'm still not sure about him as a receiver. I still think Ballard and Boss were better receivers.

[embeshAtYa]

Bennet better athtlete

[WEG313]

Bennett's solid and is a great blocker, but I'm still not sure about him as a receiver. I still think Ballard and Boss were better receivers.

Boss, yes; Ballard, no way...and Bennett is still developing his chemistry and synchronization with Eli.

[Ntegrase96]

Gosselin never has anything positive to say about the Cowboys and jumps at the chance to criticize them, so take it with a grain of salt.

Bennett has looked good with the Giants, but I think the head scratching plays are going to rear their ugly heads around. However, since he's getting more opportunity, the risk seems to be worth the reward.

I've said since day one that it was a good pick-up for the Giants because of the deal given, but now I'm not so certain. If Bennett keeps playing this way, it's a shame (for you) that he wasn't locked up for longer. Not so sure the Giants have the room to keep him with big FA signings upcoming in the future and resigning Eli.

[TheEnigma]

Witten will most likely retire in a few years and be a nomination for the HoF when he is eligible. Can't really blame the Cowboys for letting go of Bennett who was always inconsistent when he did have his opportunities.

[WEG313]

Witten will most likely retire in a few years and be a nomination for the HoF when he is eligible. Can't really blame the Cowboys for letting go of Bennett who was always inconsistent when he did have his opportunities.

He was inconsistent because he never got the passing receiver reps in practice, and was very seldom used as a receiver in games. Hard to develop any type of chemistry with your QB in such situations. Also, Romo and Garrett almost always opted for the 3 wideout sets (with Witten as the only TE) on 2nd and 3rd downs, and when in the red zon.

[giantsfan420]

lol ntegrase. u had rainer going around preseason going on about how bennett was this lazy person with horrible work ethic who was a complete bust and cited you. And I do remember you making statements very similar to that.
Nevermind that JG, Romo, Witten, etc went on and said the opposite and that really, there just wasnt enough targets left for the TE's after Wittens 150 a season. 1 or 2 attempts a game aint trying to utilize a guys talent. Almost every analyst I respect has went on about how there was a fix in Dallas and that they were never gonna give Bennett a legit chance to be the dude, and I agree. MB didn't suddenly just get this talent. He's had good work ethic throughout, becoming the best blocking TE bc thats what Dallas was asking of him. Your whole 22 formation and "Bennett just wasnt good enough to earn reps" statements are inaccurate when the guys not even getting a fair shot.
He's done nothing but get open, catch TDs, and block like a beast. And he could have been doing that in Dallas if it not for the situation. I for one wasnt buying the whole "he can be a good blocker but thats about it"...guy can be a mega beast

[TheEnigma]

He was inconsistent because he never got the passing receiver reps in practice, and was very seldom used as a receiver in games. Hard to develop any type of chemistry with your QB in such situations. Also, Romo and Garrett almost always opted for the 3 wideout sets (with Witten as the only TE) on 2nd and 3rd downs, and when in the red zon.

That's the point though. From the Cowboys perspective, why give Bennett big bucks when you have an elite TE like Witten on your roster and have talented wide receivers in Bryant and Austin? The few times he was called on to be a receiver, he never really did enough to stand out and earn more reps. It is what it is but I really don't think the Cowboys made some huge mistake like people make it out to be.